More Farmers, More Food Campaign looks at the dairy industry.

Dairy farming uses primarily cows for the production of milk although goats and sheep have been used too since the earliest of historical times.

These days modern dairy farming consists of technological advances in factory-farmed systems of processing, sterile storage, refridgeration, vehicle transportation, pasteurisation, combined with monitored enforcement of food and safety laws.

There is a growing concern that the main dairy farms are becoming too big and having lost a lot of the smaller farms, the dairy industry is in crisis.

With people switching to plant “mylks” and the farmers struggling to get fair prices for their supplies, it’s time we looked at alternative options for our UK dairy industry.

Dairy farming plays a vital role in many local economies. Dairy farming is a way of life for small farms and it is more than just a business for the people who own them. They bring economic benefits to a large number of rural areas and are often multi-generational, family-run concerns.

For many people, dairy products are an essential part of their culture and 80% of the world’s population consume dairy products regularly.

With good ethical practice and animal welfare, small-scale dairy farming can be good for maintaining pasture land without the use of heavy machinery.

It’s becoming more apparent that people want to know more about where their food comes from. They want connection, identity and trust. They want to know how the dairy calves are treated and what diet their mothers are eating.

Most of the new micro dairy start-ups are rearing calves “at foot” suckling on their mother. Pasture-fed, happier cows with less pressure on the farm staff to intensively milk them, so it’s better practice for everyone.

These smaller farms are offering the customers a direct connection with the farmer and more access for people to get involved in the dairy industry, even if they don’t come from a farming background.

It’s time we bought back more smaller farms and supported the British dairy farmers.

In the last 5 years, raw milk sales have increased in the UK. This could be due to an upturn in the number of on- farm vending machines, which makes the product more available.

If the hype is to be believed, raw or unpasteurised milk can do everything from boosting your immune system to preventing dairy allergies and improving digestion.

We consume milk because we know that it’s packed with nutrients and some say that it contains good bacteria too. But heating the milk in the pasteurisation process kills off the good bacteria, as well as the bad.

The Food Standards Agency advises that “raw or unpasteurised milk and cream may contain harmful bacteria that cause food poisoning” and that it must be labelled with a health warning. It can only be sold by registered producers directly to customers. We discussed whether it was a superfood or a dangerous fad and had a lot of positive responses on social media. We also looked at the possibility of owning your own cows and discussed the space needed to do so and looked at small-scale dairy farms as examples of good ethical practice.

You can follow us on Instagram and Facebook and join in the debate.

Here is an interesting fact about Nathaniel Rothschild and the start of the milk pasteurisation process.